Thanks everyone, really appreciate the comments! Sorry no posting this weekend I had another bout of gout from a food allergy and have been limping along with a cane. Difficult enough to get to the living room let alone to my studio.

Hiltiki: Thank you, I love doing detailed pieces, but I admit this is probably the most intricate piece I have done yet. Thanks for stopping by!

Wendy: as always you are incredibly gracious. I guess so this post is not bare bones I will show you what I finally ended up doing with the paints you gave me. I got all the nails in the shelving in so they just hang there and are so handy to just grab a few feet away from my desk.

VampiressRN: Thank you for the compliments! You had me stumped there for a bit I had never heard of Design Toscano and had to look it up. Too rich for my blood, but man I really love the sarcophagus cabinet! Functional and cool as all get out! At my current job though that would be about 5 months of payments LOL. I've been in love with ancient Egypt as well as other ancient cultures for a long time. I attribute the love of Egyptian particularly to visiting this theatre when I was young; it was a whole other world, unlike anything else my young eyes had yet seen. In some ways even Disneyland didn't measure up to it. Thanks for dropping by the tomb.

And now.... if you can stand the suspense.... paint organization!

Okay fine, I'll throw in a quicky I old lady mask I painted last week for a start up theatre company.

OK, so I am better and got a bit more done...man, we are getting ever so close to the finish line here folks!

I did what I said I was gonna do about the side of the arch, and put some nonsensical (but meaningful to me) hieroglyphics, I just have to figure out what I am going to do with the top part of the arch now.

I also did yet more changes to Charlie and the theater screen.

And so... away we go...

First I painted the outlines after penciling them in.

Research. More research as always. I have about 8 books on hieroglyphics checked out from the library right now. The Egyptian Hieroglyphic system has an order to it, but is ridiculously convoluted, there are not just symbols for sounds, but also groupings which change the sound meanings depending on their order and placement. Even with the famous Rosetta stone, it took quite a while to crack, and some things we are still not quite sure of. So rather than try and put sounding hieroglyphs together into words and hoping I got it right, I decided to use phrases already confirmed and published.

These might be hard to read at this size, the first one is "the genius of creative utterance". What could be more apropos for a painting of a theater, in which both are creative endeavors that start with words and bringing into reality through them?

I couldn't find a tiger, so I used the next best thing, a cat.

The next one goes in hand with the first: "the genius of perception", the ability to perceive both the normal and abnormal and how they interrelate, something that could be said of many movies and particularly the genius of Charlie Chaplin. You may also notice a little in-joke: a pacman ghost monster inside the little regeneration box from the game. It is a double joke, because there is a Egyptian hieroglyphic that looks exactly like the regeneration box, that means "home", or "dwelling". I normally put several in-jokes in my art but restrained myself on this one because I wanted it to be as historically accurate as possible. I figured the arch area was perfect because there is no way of knowing from the documentation I have what was actually there. There is a further personal joke there was well; with the combination of "the genius of perception" and "home" you get an approximation of "clue" and "house". My comic characters I have drawn since I was a kid and hope to launch as a web comic soon are called "Cluehouse Kids".

So the hieroglyphics were colored in, and my signature was added in.(The triangle/mushroom thing is my signature, it is my initials inside a triangle).

Then the painful part comes. You see, as is the hieroglyphics stand out too much. They have to be in dark shadows and as such barely perceptible. So shadows were added.

Now, I softened up Charlie a bit more. I wanted the screen to have that soft hazy glow that theater screens give off.

Originally I was going to have a full stream of light towards the screen, like you see from the projection booth due to particles in the air. But I felt it would ruin the dark ambiance I had built up, so instead I made some subtle streams around the screen, and added some distinctive light bounce around the pillar.

At this point, I noticed a little visitor to the studio that seemed to have a great fascination with my painting traveling all over it as I worked. Not a scarab, but close enough.

Finally, I strengthened the light on the crowd, and added some little hints of color. Now I think the light is too bold and I will need to go back and touch it up. I also need to fix more of the crowd still so the seating looks more natural.

So, all I have left is finish sorting out the crowd, and the overhead arch, and adding footlights to the stage. I am undecided if I should have any curtains showing above the screen or not as I am not entirely sure how the fire curtain and the stage curtains worked together. I have a hunch there were probably small curtaining above the screen, and closing stage curtains (as there are now) that were probably in front of the fire curtain which rolled up on rollers hidden within the backsides of the pillars. Not sure what color the curtains would be either, but they would probably match the exit curtains. Currently in the theater the exit curtains appear to be burgundy velvet (a very traditional theater color and cloth for curtains), while the stage curtains are yellow gold. It's possible these are the original curtains, but I highly doubt it because I worked in our local theater for a while and went through our bins of curtains from when they started (50's/60's) and those curtains just shredded under your bare hands (granted they probably were not brand new when they started... I'm guessing 1940's era). So for original curtains to survive from the 1920's.... I very highly doubt it. It is possible of course that they had curtains remade exactly the same as the originals over the years, but I know a thing or two about how theater budgets work: usually they go for whatever is the easiest and cheapest at the time because budgets are slim, if that means a color change from the original then so be it. Usually in the 20's drapes and curtains matched, it was rare to have differing colors within the same room/setting, so my theory is one of those curtain colors is the correct one historically, but not both.

So what to do? add curtains? If so... which color?

Well, that's it kids until next time you see me go crazy trying to pick out curtains.

Well, kids you read the title right... this is our last trip across the shifting sands of Egypt. I pulled an all nighter this past weekend and finally finished!

But first before we get underway...

Thanks for stopping by Clarita and Wendy, and the encouraging words. Always appreciated.

The biggest thing to finish off was the crowd. I had to black out nearly half the crowd a few times to get it right, because the seating was horribly out of line and not lined up like theater seats should be. The seats however are in a half circle sort of configuration so the sight lines are tricky particularly if I wanted most of the actions of them recognizable and not hidden by each other.

Wiping out parts of the crowd...

I worked hard to make this not just a crowd watching a movie. I wanted to have little vignettes that each told a little story within the crowd, just like you would find in looking around a real theater during a movie. Of course back then so many people wore hats it was hard to enforce a "no hats" rule, let alone people wearing them in the theatre.

A few more citizens in the crowd are added...

I currently lack internet connection in the studio (let alone a laptop or anything... going to save up for a kindle or ipad) so when I need reference I have to use my big convex mirror and a camera. In this case I needed the look of someone tipped back asleep in their seat and snoring. It's a little blurry but it worked for my purpose.

After that, I added more to the "snoring story" with a livid wife hunched over and clutching her purse next to the old snoring man. Then next to the wife is the daughter covering her face with her hand to avoid confrontation with her neighbor about the loudness of the snoring. Behind the snorer is a young couple much amused at the old man, with the young man using a feather plucked from the young ladies hat to tickle the poor snoring man. I can hear the daughter "Mother! He PROMISED he wouldn't fall asleep again! This is EMBARRASSING!"

Remember the two twin girls by the exit door with their daddy? I added to the story of why the one twin is so annoyed with the other. You'll note the one turned around is talking to a young man I can hear her saying "She's doing it AGAIN DADDY! Do something!" Meanwhile an older man in glasses behind the talkative young man is tapping him on the shoulder about the noise he is making.

Now... pay special attention to the man guffawing with laughter at the antics of Charlie Chaplin, we will come back to him in a moment.

There is an annoyed couple in the front row looking daggers at that guffawing man, they are the kind who think everything they do smells like roses and seem entitled to wear big lavish hats which are blocking the view of the poor couple behind them who are craning necks to see the film.

Adding a little flesh tone around the areas of the exit and faux torch lights, and more light projection from above because the invisible projector beam is above the crowd.

A splash of color to the front row people which is from the bounced light off the screen in front.

I didn't think the pillar felt "rounded" enough so I added some more light reflection and a little more light behind it to help form the shape.

The stage needed some footlights so I added some art deco polished brass ones.

Oh those curtains! I decided it may have been possible considering the color scheme that they may have been gold color after all and added an upper ruffle of them. I left it to the viewer to decide if there might be some full length stage curtains hidden behind the pillar or not, which is possible at the angle I chose. At this point I finished the first wings motif on the arch, which I had finally figured out was done in relief: explaining why they had not been painted over with the other hieroglyphs I am certain were on the arch. It would have a) looked off to see a relief in a single color, b) it would have taken a lot to paint all those nooks and crannies, it could not be half assed too look okay and everything points to the fact that the arch was a hasty and sloppy paint over job so the easiest thing to do was to paint around the relief parts. The winged motif above here is not quite painted fully yet, I finally realized it too was relief so I had to paint lighting and shadows over it from the house lights directly below the striped area.

The screen needed a bit more "bright blur" so I fixed Chaplin more and called that done.

One the end of the seating aisles that are closest to the wall lights I added a fuzzy blur of light to the crowd to make them seem more optically distant, and have a bit more romantic moody lighting.

At long last it was time to add my signature to the piece. I've had problems explaining my signature in the past to people (it looks like a mushroom inside a triangle, but is composed of the initials to my first, middle, and last name: JDG) so I decided to make it a little more "user friendly" and added a very clear "GUIHER" underneath and then to tidy it up I added another rectangle around it... looks kind of art deco, which is cool that is one of my favorite art styles. I also defined the "J" in color so it reads as "J GUIHER".

And now what you have all been waiting for... the final reveal... the last trip to the tomb...one more desert crossing...

Some parting shot details as we wave goodbyes to the camel caravan...

The only thing left is to seal it, and then figure out the logistics of scanning and getting it printed. Thanks to everyone who dropped into the tomb of the pharohs and said "hi" and commented on the work. Don't cry, there are more trips planned to other exotic locales ahead, stay tuned!

So so soooooooo good! You really have captured the feel of a theater! all the detail, and lighting....
It gives me a warm "RAY BRADBURY" feeling in my stomach.
That is the biggest complement I know how to give....

tigertail777 I loved reading all the audience stories and looking at the people. A true artist is one who knows when the painting is finished. You hit it on the nose. It's a masters work of art. I don't want this story to end. I hope you will share all the rest of the steps and stories that will follow this piece. Sometimes it takes a year to reach the end so I'll be patient but please continue this story.

Also I hope you will start another project really soon. Hugs and well wishes, Wendy

Brad: you're comparing me to Ray Bradbury? *Wayne's World bowing and scraping* "I'm not worthy!" But seriously, gosh that is one of the best compliments I think I have ever gotten about my art. Bradbury is among my top five favorite authors and I just cannot describe the utter beauty and mystery of the worlds he creates. As for wishing you had painted this... we are even on that score, there are a number of your paintings I just wish the same thing, I think my favorite is probably "Beyond the Reef", the mashing together of what seems to be Pirates of the Caribbean and tiki with underwater lighting is just superb!

Cy: Thank you so much, your work is outstanding as well. I may not comment often but I always eagerly follow your Frog Island thread, and have been wearing your generous gift with the cold weather lately (the long sleeve Frog Island shirt).

Wendy: You helped make this painting possible with your wonderful gift of the paints, a lot of your umber and black in particular are in there amongst other colors. I will of course "continue the story" once I know the score. Right now the committee is deciding the next step, no idea how long all that will take but I will keep you informed. As for the next project, I am contemplating it myself; one is a possible Walt Disney World Adventureland painting for a friend, we are trying to work out an equitable trade right now. Another is I really would like to get a comic strip launched on the web, but for the site I have in mind its going to cost around $800 so I will have to likely do some other fundraising projects in the meantime. I am really torn about posting some of those projects on here because a lot of my output either is not tiki altogether, or only fractionally features anything tiki. I love historical Polynesian pop stuff, but I just don't feel the urge to make all of my artistic output of that variety, and I feel like it is somehow breaking rules or cheating to put it on here. Some of it COULD be considered marginally poly-pop simply because I like throwing in those elements with others and melding them into a surreal amalgamation of the two, but I couldn't really honestly say they are poly-pop enough to go on here. I surprisingly didn't get really any flack but a few grumblings about the Egyptian stuff and I don't want to push that too far, I do understand it is a TIKI forum and not a free for all but I also feel a lot of people on here are almost family and I want to share...so as I said I am torn.

Oh... and one more project... remember the tabletop mini golf? I have more clay to hopefully finish the first hole at least. The plan I am hoping to do with that is to make a nine hole course and possibly testing it out at the next Tiki Kon. So... I have plenty of projects to do I just have to decide what one.

It's time for an update on the Egyptian painting as well as the other projects you mentioned. Or have you taken time off and been relaxing and thinking about going to Kon Tiki in 2014? Wendy
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Sorry for leaving you hanging so long. I've been sick since before Christmas and am just now starting to get over it. Why so long? Every time I started to get better I had to go out into the yucky rain and cold to go to work, and it would start the cycle all over again.

Good news is, I am working out a contract with the theatre right now which gives me some rights that I asked for such as the ability to publish the painting in a future book of paintings etc. They are earnest in wanting to get the ball rolling on the printing end, which is up to me to get the printer lined up, but due to the above I have not had the energy to get it done. I am just about well enough to start the ball rolling again, so that's good.

I know its a meager update, but it's all I can manage right now. Once I get my tiki mojo back I will get back into the groove. Right now I am tired of feeling like the floor of a taxi cab (to quote Ghostbusters).